Saturday, 8 June 2013

A Restricted Dig

The Archaeologist's Handbook: A Guide to Archaeology for
Roleplaying Games is a curious beast. It reads in part like a supplement for
Call of Cthulhu, but is not written for that RPG despite the significance of
that role in both the RPG and the fiction that inspired it. It also reads and
feels like one of the Miskatonic University Library Association monographs that
Chaosium, Inc. publishes in support of its primary RPG, Call of Cthulhu, but is
instead published by Innsmouth House Press, an imprint of the website,
yog-sothoth.com, which is specifically devoted to all things Lovecraftian, role
playing in particular... Thus it feels like it should be a Call of Cthulhu
supplement, but is not, and it feels like it should have been published by
Chaosium, but was not.

So the questions arise, just what is The Archaeologist's
Handbook: A Guide to Archaeology for Roleplaying Games, and who is it written
for? As the title suggests, its presents an examination of the study and
practice of Archaeology, its history, notable techniques, a discussion of
noteworthy proponents of the science, as well as sites and forgeries, and so
on, with the aim of making this information useable by roleplayers. In the main
it covers the Victorian period, the 1920s, and the roughly contemporary here
and now – the three eras that dominate Lovecraftian investigative horror.

The history begins in the antiquities before coming up to
speed with archaeology’s founding as a field of study and its practise since
the eighteenth century. Although it comes up to the modern day, it is a pity
that it does not cover the rise in popularity for all things archaeological in
the wake of television coverage – essentially the Time Team effect. Thus it covers
both the Grand Tour and the research conducted in Egypt during Napoleon’s
occupation; the archaeological scholarship that would lay the foundations for
Darwin’s theory of evolution and the Ordnance Survey work that would reveal
much of Great Britain’s hidden history; and how archaeology has moved from the
province of the scholarly gentleman and his wealthy patron to the aegis of
museum, university, and government. Numerous techniques used to dig and
excavate a site are described, as are various means of scientifically dating a
site and its finds. This is followed by descriptions and histories of some of
the world’s more notable museums along with some of their exhibits. None of
these are covered in extensive detail, but the balance is about between having
enough information to make use of in-game and having enough to serve as
pointers should further research be required. Of more practical use is the
guide to actually running an archaeological excavation which gets into the
logistics of the affair, period by period.

Up until this point, the tone The Archaeologist's Handbook
is a little dry and technical, but this changes with a discussion of infamous
fakes and forgeries, such as Glozel and The Cardiff Giant. The lighter tone
continues as the book begins to support its roleplaying aspect – for example,
each notable site, from Stonehenge and Pompeii to Petra and Great Zimbabwe is
accompanied by a juicy plot hook that a referee could easily develop into
something playable. It is a pity though, that the array of notable sites and
accompanying plot hooks ignores Asia. Rounding out The Archaeologist's Handbook
are some diary entries that nicely capture the life of an archaeologist in each
of the book’s three eras, a list of notable archaeologists – none are given
stats though, and a list of possible equipment for each era.

Although not written specifically for Call of Cthulhu, the
contents of The Archaeologist's Handbook are probably more applicable to that
game than any other. After all, the archaeologist is one of the game's signature
Occupations, which means that Call of Cthulhu players and Keepers alike will
probably get the most out of the book’s contents. Plus there is plenty of
evidence in the book to suggest that it was written with Call of Cthulhu in mind.
In particular, it focuses upon the RPG’s three core eras – the Victorian
period, the Jazz Age of the 1920s, and the modern day, plus the sample NPCs its
provides for each era are written up in a fashion that apes Call of Cthulhu
characters rather than matches them exactly. Thus you have Stamina instead of
Constitution, Willpower instead of Power, Library Usage rather than Library
Use, Take Notice rather than Spot Hidden, and so on. Adapting any one of the
three NPCs to Call of Cthulhu, Cubicle Seven Entertainment’sThe Laundry RPG,
or any Basic Roleplay RPG is anything other than a challenge. That said, given
the fact that both skills and the stats for all three characters are expressed
as percentile figures actually makes them more compatible with the forthcoming
Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition rather than the current Call of Cthulhu, Sixth
Edition. Adapting the characters to Pelgrane Press’Trail of Cthulhu or RealityBlurs, Inc.’sRealms of Cthulhu is more challenging, but certainly within the bounds
of possibility.

The Archaeologist's Handbook comes a seventy-six page A5
sized spiral bound book. This format makes it easy to flip through and read,
the former necessary due to the lack of an index. That said, the format does
not withstand much in the way of handling, and perhaps a plastic cover could
have been included for the back cover as well as the front. The book is
illustrated throughout with a range of black and white drawings and
photographs, all of them appropriately selected. It is a pity that the book
does not come with any maps as subject matter certainly lends itself to those. The
writing is a also perhaps a little dry in places, but once the author begins to
talk about sites and museums and forgeries, she warms to her subject and is
more engaging. Still the book could have done with a closer edit.

More of an issue is that The Archaeologist's Handbook is
underdeveloped in places. As a consequence its stance is strongly Anglophile in
places. This is understandable given that the author is English, but that does
mean that this guide to playing an archaeologist is tailored to English
characters. Given that the Call of Cthulhu playing audience for this book is
primarily American, it would have been useful if the author had been able to
present information on how to play an American archaeologist, let alone say a
French or German one.

Where The Archaeologist's Handbook is at its weakest is the
fact that it is a generic supplement. Had it been specifically written for Call
of Cthulhu then it could have better explored its subject and thus have better
applied it to excavating the Mythos. Or least reference any one of the
innumerable scenarios written for that the game that involve Archaeology or an
Archaeological dig of some kind. Whether that is “The Clive Expedition” from
Chaosium, Inc.'s Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep, TOME's Glozel est Authentique,
and “Darkness, Descending” from Cubicle Seven Entertainment's Cthulhu Britannia
anthology. Of course, it could also have covered how to create an Archaeologist
character in each of RPG’s three core eras.

Had it been allowed to develop that much further – with maps
and more scope than its current Anglophile stance as well as applied its
subject to Lovecraftian investigative horror, then there is no doubt that this
supplement could have been a very useful sourcebook for Call of Cthulhu.
Despite these limitations, there is no denying that The Archaeologist's Handbook:
A Guide to Archaeology for Roleplaying Games is a meaty introduction to its
subject – and is thus of use to players and Keeper referee alike.

For Your Information

A gamer for over thirty-five years, Pookie has been reviewing games and saying mostly nice things about them for ten of them. His reviews have appeared in Steve Jackson Games' Pyramid and Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society, Campaign Magazine, Games International, The Unspeakable Oath, at OgreCave.com, and elsewhere. Currently they appear regularly at Reviews from R'lyeh.

He has edited titles for Triple Ace Games for the Sundered Skies setting; for Goodman Games' Age of Cthulhu line; for Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplay; for Call of Cthulhu from SixtyStone Press; and various others.

Other facts about Pookie:

He is English.He likes tea.

He has been known as Pookie since he was seven.The nickname has nothing whatsoever to do with small bears and is more leptoidal in nature.The Klingon in him is fond of prunes.